Robert Campbell (Australian politician, born 1804)
Robert Campbell (5 October 1804 – 30 March 1859) was an early opponent of penal transportation to Australia and a politician in New South Wales. He served as Colonial Treasurer and was a member of both the NSW Legislative Council and the NSW Legislative Assembly.
He was born the second son of Robert Campbell at Campbell’s Wharf in The Rocks, Sydney. He spent his youth abroad, living in Pimlico, London from 1810 to 1819 for his education, then returned to work in his family company, Campbell and Co., in 1827. He traveled to England on company business in 1828–1830.
In England he joined the anti-transportation campaign and became its leader in the early 1830s after refusing to sit on a jury that included emancipists. In 1835 he married Annie Sophia Riley.
In 1846 Campbell organized a protest against reviving transportation after it had ended in 1840. A petition signed by about 6,800 people was presented to the NSW Legislative Council and the British Government. The convict ship Hashemy arrived in 1849, but Campbell’s meetings helped stop further convicts from being sent to Sydney.
Politically, Campbell was elected to the Legislative Council in 1851 representing the City of Sydney. In 1856 he was elected to the first Legislative Assembly. He served as Colonial Treasurer from August to October 1856 and again from January 1858 until his death.
He fell ill and died at his father’s property at Duntroon, near what is now Canberra. His daughter later married Edward Wolstenholme Ward.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:22 (CET).